GLEANING ON PHILEMON'S FIELD...
TEXT: VS 1-3
" Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,/And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house/ Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"
This epistle is commonly and widely known as being written to Philemon, a convert of apostle Paul. The crux of this letter is FORGIVENESS and REINSTATEMENT. This is the converging point of this letter. Infact, this letter places a demand on Philemon over his erred servant Onisimus. This letter would be a nulity if this is not achieved. The demand of God on the life of this man is crystal clear. Observe this: this letter was not addressed to Philemon alone. A careful observation of the above text reveals that it was written to four groups of people. Watch this: " ..unto: -PHILEMON our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer -APPHIA our beloved -ARCHIPPUS our fellowsoldier, and to -The CHURCH in thy house." Traditionally or historically, it is believed that Apphia was the wife of Philemon while Archippus was his son. Believers meet in his house: Archippus was the pastor of that church. These are facts behind which we can glean some spiritual lessons. First and foremost, if the letter was addressed to the persons above but attentioned to Philemon, it means that everybody around him knew what the demand of God over his life was. This is critical: if his wife and son are asked they would tell you that they know what God has told the man of the house-"bring Onesimus back, forgive and reinstate him; nothing more nothing less. Also, the church knew about this letter because it was an open letter known and read by all. Every time his wife was praying for the husband, chiefest of her prayer for him was this one thing: Onesimus! The church had no other prayer for him than this. This was the motif for his entire family per that period. Whenever God calls a man or places a demand on any life, He causes people around such life to perceive it. It was said of Samuel that: " ... all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. "1Sam. 3:20 This forms their prayers for you. Your wife and children would have to know the full contents of this "Letter of demand" from Paul. Let me tell you, blessed is the man that have around him men and woman who know and appreciate the demand of God over him. They would give you all the supports you need to "forgive and reinstate Onesimus." Sometimes is good to make people around you see what you are cut out for. The whole church saw clearly what Paul wanted Philemon to do. After every service, the question to him would be "how are you coping with Onesimus?" The letter says Onesimus must be like a brother to you." This letter was not hidden , so Philemon would be watched from time to time by people around him as to how he conducts himself toward Onesimus. We should never imagine that the world around us does not know how a Christian should behave: that is why they could say, "and you said you are a Christian!" To be continued. FOR LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND SPIRITUAL COUNSEL: STRAIGHT STREET
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Emeka Joe Uzosike
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